maxthegrey

Hey everyone, Thanks so much for the kind words. Cherish every sound that your grey makes and record them often. I have a funny clip of Max attacking my video camera taken a few months before he died. The house is so different without him here. The doc called today and said that it was his heart. His heart muscles were streaking and strained, so he must have had a bad heart. He called it myocardial fibrosis, or fibrosis of the heart muscles or something like that. His lungs were very clean, and his other organs looked great, but his heart just couldn't keep him alive. His comment was that there was nothing that could be done and that birds are great at hiding things. He was such a sweet bird. I have a chance to get another grey, from the same breeder.... Max's brother or sister! I really want another one to honor Max's memory and fill the void. Max can never be replaced! Thanks again everybody. This site is a blessing! Matt Garza VIDEO OF MAX: Old one, speaking spanish: New one, eating the camera:

I guess it's time for an update. Max was progressing wonderfully, I could see his feathers starting to come back and he seemed very happy, many thanks to all of the suggestions and tips from this forum. I've been home sick with the flu for the past two days. Yesterday morning, all was well, he was talkative and his "usual" self, and then in the afternoon he was at the bottom of his cage, struggling for life! I don't know what could have happened and it happened so fast and so unexpectedly. I felt like there was nothing I could do for him, I wrapped him in a towel and had a friend drive us to the vet, but his vet (which happens to be the closest one to us) is 40 minutes away. He died in my arms on the way down there. I can't believe this is happening, I had no idea anything was wrong and now he is gone. My house is too quiet now, it's so hard to be here. He always says Good Morning to me every morning and this morning, he wasn't there. The vet is going to see what happened and I should know something this afternoon, but I decided to have him privately cremated so that I can bury his ashes at my parent's house in Texas (where I grew up). I'd like to plant a tree in my parents backyard for him. I just can't believe that he's gone now... so fast. Matt

Hi Everyone! Well, I know that it will take some time, but after talking with a friend from the bird store, I was offered an interested idea that I tried out today. The suggestion was to put an old phone book in the cage for Max to shred up. He was so excited with it that as I was installing it, he came up and started ripping it up already! I had to leave for a few hours and when I got back I could tell he has been working on it!! I've been rotating his toys, but I think he's been bored with the rotation. I guess I didn't understand how much they like to destruct things and didn't keep enough of the toys that he can destroy. When I described the feather plucking, she explained that it seems like Max is chewing the feathers. that he's plucking them out and then "playing" with them. I change his paper daily and can usually see the "shreds" of feathers at the bottom of his cage, well tonight there were NO FEATHERS or pieces of feathers at all! I'm going to keep at this but I have a new light for him, new toys, treats and everything. I hope my baby keeps improving!! Matt

okay you can visit this website to see the pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlgmusic/sets/72157603657280936/<br><br>Post edited by: maxthegrey, at: 2008/01/07 18:49

sorry i guess i can't figure out how to upload images!! <br><br>Post edited by: maxthegrey, at: 2008/01/07 18:40

Hi everyone! Thanks again for the suggestions! I think I need to work on some social skills for my bird, the poor thing. I've read a bunch of these forum posts and I feel very confident that it's not too late to work on these things! I have a hard time getting him out of his cage, he feels so secure in it ... but once he's out he's fine. We practiced step up today and he's so funny, I said "STEP UP" and his little foot just pops right up in the air. I'll keep working on it. Keep those suggestions coming, you guys are all great! here are some pictures! if they work!!

THANK YOU all for your suggestions! I've been trying to keep new toys in rotation, and I know that whenever there's a new toy, he's afraid of it, so I have to hang it outside his cage for a day until he knows it won't hurt him. I'll try the foraging ideas! Thanks Terri! As for the other things, my schedule is basically the same, he's in my bedroom, but I have a smaller cage in the living room that I can put him in if I'm not in here a lot. Since I work on the computer so much, we spend a lot of time in the bedroom. I have a dog and a cat in the house with me, and they all get along great. I'll play around with his diet more and see if things change. Thanks again for all of the great suggestions. This forum is a blessing and I'm glad I found it! Best, Matt & Max

We went to the vet in August of 2007 (four months ago) and everything was fine. The vet said it's behavioral but didn't really give me anything substantial to do with him. He hasn't plucked all the way down to the skin, he leaves the fluffy grey feathers closest to his skin but shreds the dark grey feathers. the only ones he hasn't touched are the long flight feathers.

This is where Max came from. Right outside of San Antonio. http://www.blackstumpaviary.com/

So, I got Max from a breeder outside of San Antonio back in 2002. He's a beautiful bird, but I'm feeling very lost and confused with him because I don't understand him. I have books and I read on the internet and just can't figure him out. About a year ago, he started with the feather plucking. No matter what I try, he keeps messing with his feathers. Every year for Christmas, I drive from Wisconsin to Texas to see family and he and the dog go with me. We've done this every year since 2003! Well, this year, the day before we left, he decided to pluck the beautiful red feathers! Why is he doing this? Last summer, I had him completely checked out at the vet, and nothing was wrong. They did every test they could and everything was fine. I let him out of his cage whenever I'm home but he never wants to "step up" anymore. But if he flies off his cage, he wants me to pick up to bring him back. Does he just feel secure in his cage? Does he not trust me? Also, I notice that he shakes a lot. Is this normal? It looks like he's scared. I feel like a horrible African Grey Owner because I don't know what else to do to help my bird! Matt